Pop Health Podcast

Hosted by Meg and Melissa

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Episodes

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

Join hosts Melissa Cohen and Meg Koepke from Coral Health Advisors as they discuss all things population health, value-based care, and making health care work better for us all.

Listen to episodes

29 recent

June 3, 202631 min

Rethinking Rural Access: How Truentity’s ANCHOR Model Connects Pharmacies, Data, and Care

In this episode of Bright Spots, Coral’s Kate Freeman speaks with Beth Blaise, MPA, Director of State Programs at Truentity Health, about how Truentity’s ANCHOR model is working to expand access to care in rural and underserved communities. The conversation explores how community pharmacies, connected health infrastructure, and coordinated care models can help address persistent gaps in chronic disease management and care access across rural areas. Beth shares how the model operates in practice, the challenges of implementing innovative rural health approaches within today’s health care system, and what models like ANCHOR could mean for the future of rural care delivery, workforce sustainability, and community-based health care access.

May 21, 202627 min

Making Specialty Care Work in Value-Based Models

As accountable care models continue to evolve, organizations are increasingly being asked to engage specialists in more meaningful and coordinated ways. In this episode, Coral Health Advisor’s Joy Chen sits down with Aisha Pittman, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at NAACOS; Dr. Erin Hurlburt, Chief Medical Officer of Population Health Services at Lumeris; and Dr. Gene Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of Envoy Integrated Health, to discuss the growing role of specialty care in value-based care and accountable care models. The conversation explores challenges and opportunities related to incentives, care accountability, data sharing, network design, and specialist alignment, along with insights from NAACOS’ new Specialty Engagement in Accountable Care Toolkit.

April 6, 202618 min

Reimagining Post-Acute Care: Why the Future of Recovery Happens at Home

In this episode of The Pop Health Podcast, Brian Lobley, CEO of tango, sits down with Coral Founder Meg Koepke to discuss how post-acute care is evolving and why the home is becoming the preferred setting for recovery after hospitalization. Brian shares how tango is aligning payers and home health providers through value-based approaches that prioritize faster access to care, better outcomes, and lower total cost of care. Together, they explore the implications for Medicare Advantage and emerging policy models, the operational realities of managing post-acute episodes, and what the future of home-based recovery could look like as health systems continue shifting care beyond traditional facility walls.

March 17, 202639 min

From Concept to Model: The Making of LEAD

In this episode of the Pop Health Podcast, Coral's Maria Alexander and Joy Chen welcome Meredith Yinger, Model Lead for the Innovation Center’s LEAD (Long-term Enhanced ACO Design) Model and Emily Bezold, Senior Advisor to the Center’s ACO portfolio. Together, they explore more about the mission and vision for LEAD, how the model came to fruition, the Center’s rationale for key design features, and what potential applicants may want to know before they apply.

March 11, 202628 min

Primary Care Population-Based Payment and Value Based Payment State Lessons

In this episode of the Pop Health Podcast, Coral's Trevor Abeyta is joined by Araceli Santistevan, Payment Reform Unit Supervisor at the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, and Andy Wilson, Managing Director for Analytics at Third Horizon Strategies. Together they discuss Colorado Medicaid’s APM 2 primary care capitation model, exploring what has worked, key challenges such as rate setting and post-COVID utilization changes, and lessons for states pursuing value-based payment.

February 18, 202614 min

What the LEAD Model Means for ACOs and the Future of Value-Based Care

In this episode, Melissa Cohen, Founder of Coral Health Advisors, is joined by Maria Alexander, EVP & Partner, and Joy Chen, Director, to unpack CMMI’s newest accountable care model — LEAD (Long-term Enhanced ACO Design). Together, they explore how LEAD builds on MSSP and ACO REACH, what’s actually new (and what’s familiar), and how ACOs should start thinking about readiness, risk, and strategy ahead of a potential 2027 launch.

January 5, 202643 min

New Model Mania: Unpacking CMS's RHTP, ASM, LEAD, ACCESS, and ELEVATE

As 2025 comes to a close, CMS signals are becoming clearer across rural health, specialty care, chronic care, prevention, and accountable care. In this end-of-year episode, Coral Founder Meg Koepke is joined by Maria Alexander, Kate Freeman, and Trevor Abeyta to unpack what the latest federal models reveal about where policy and accountability are heading in 2026 and beyond. They discuss what RHTP signals about rural transformation, how ASM expands mandatory accountability into specialty care, what ACCESS shows about the future of digital chronic care, how LEAD reflects a shift toward longer-term accountable care, and why MAHA ELEVATE represents a new bet on prevention. Together, they reflect on what this mix of mandatory and voluntary models and fast experimentation with long horizons means for organizations preparing for the next phase of health care transformation.

September 29, 2025Episode 2125 min

Rural Health Transformation: How States Can Align Stakeholders for Lasting Change

The Rural Health Transformation Program represents a $50 billion investment in the future of rural health care. In this episode, Coral Directors Kate Freeman and Trevor Abeyta are joined by Caitlin Westerson, Senior Director for State Policy and Advocacy at United States of Care, to explore what this program means for states, providers, and communities. Together, they unpack the opportunities and challenges in applying for funding, the role of value-based care in building sustainable models, and how states can align stakeholders to create lasting change in rural health systems.

September 23, 2025Episode 2041 min

Beyond the Hype: What GLP-1s Mean for Policy and Employers

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have quickly moved from niche treatments to the center of high-stakes conversations across payers about cost, access, and coverage. In this episode, Coral Partner Alison Falb talks with Laura Rudder Huff, Vice President at Gallagher Research & Insights, about how the rise of GLP-1s is shaping employer benefit strategies, equity considerations, and policy debates.

September 9, 2025Episode 1915 min

Navigating Drug Pricing, Policy, and Access with Coral Partner Alison Falb

In this episode, Coral’s Founder Meg Koepke talks with Alison Falb about her journey from CMS to FDA to Coral. We explore current policy trends and challenges in Life Sciences –what they mean for organizations navigating drug pricing reforms, coverage, and access challenges.